Leonora & Alejandro: La Maga y el Maestro

Inspired by the visual art, writings and life of British-born Mexican artist Leonora Carrington and her mentorship of filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky, this surreal performance is steeped in alchemy and reveals not only the melding between great seers but also their spiritual tug of war.

“Where the Bird Sings Best, Chilean filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky’s imaginative journey through his ancestry, was the starting point when I began working on Double Edge’s Latin American Cycle. Yet as the 2016 election approached, and so much misogyny was laid bare, I realized that I could not make any more performances without a woman as a central figure. Discovering the 20th-century writer, painter, and sculptor of the surrealist circle Leonora Carrington, someone who remains all too embedded in the hidden territories of our cultural landscape, is no less than a revelation — of an artistic partner, mentor, guide, and inspiration. Her mentorship of Jodorowsky, who was sent to Leonora by his guru, produced a collaboration of the play Penelope (transformed from a version of Carrington’s Oval Lady). As far as how the rest of their encounter unfolded, the magic, mystery, and humanity we have portrayed is certainly to be found in both Carrington and Jodorowsky’s work, yet the way it is painted and imagined is without doubt mine and the ensemble’s own invention.” Stacy Klein.

Leonora & Alejandro: La Maga y el Maestro was developed in part, and premiered at Peak Performances at Montclair State University, with Carrington biographer Susan Aberth.
Excerpts from Leonora Carrington’s writing used with the consent of the Leonora Carrington Estate.
Excerpts from Alejandro Jodorowsky’s writing used with permission of the author.
“House Opposite” and the “The Garden of Paracelsus” © 2018 Estate of Leonora Carrington / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.